Mac McCaughan

Ralph Lee "Mac" McCaughan (/məˈkɑːn/; born July 12, 1967) is an American musician and record label owner, based in North Carolina. His main musical projects have been Superchunk since 1989 and Portastatic since the early 1990s. In 1989 he founded the independent record label Merge Records with Superchunk bandmate Laura Ballance.

Mac McCaughan
Background information
Born	(1967-07-12) July 12, 1967 (age 57)
Genres	Indie rock
Occupations	Musician songwriter co-founder of Merge Records
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Labels	Merge Matador
Member of	Portastatic Superchunk
Formerly of	Bricks Go Back Snowball Metal Pitcher Seam Slushpuppies Wwax

Musical history

As a child, McCaughan adored the classic rock of bands such as AC/DC and the Rolling Stones. In his teens, he was impacted by synthesizer-driven acts like New Order, OMD and Cocteau Twins. Other prominent influences have included R.E.M., Let's Active, Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth and Minutemen.^[1]

McCaughan is a founding member of the rock band Superchunk. Formed in 1989, they are one of the bands that helped define the Chapel Hill music scene of the 1990s. Their energetic, high-velocity style and do-it-yourself ethics is influenced by punk rock. The band released a string of full-length albums and compilations throughout the '90s. After releasing their eighth studio album in 2001, the band went into a period of reduced activity. In 2010, the band released a new studio album Majesty Shredding and followed it up in 2013 with their tenth studio album, I Hate Music.

He also heads the band Portastatic, which began as a lo-fi side project from Superchunk and has blossomed into his main musical project.^[2] Prior to this, he was the head of another lo-fi band named Bricks with Andrew Webster of Tsunami, Josh Phillips and Laura Cantrell. Other bands he played with prior to Superchunk include Slushpuppies, Wwax and Metal Pitcher (with Ballance).

In the early 1990s he was also the original drummer in the band Seam, which was formed in 1991 with former Bitch Magnet front man Sooyoung Park. He played on their debut album Headsparks and the Kernel EP.

In 2002, McCaughan teamed up with Robert Pollard of Guided by Voices to form the group Go Back Snowball. The duo recorded and released an album in 2002, titled Calling Zero.^[3] In the same year, he composed the score for Matt Bissonnette and Steven Clark's film Looking for Leonard.^[4]

Merge Records

McCaughan and his Superchunk bandmate Laura Ballance co-founded the independent record label Merge Records in 1989 as a way to release music by Superchunk, and other artist friends. The label has been a significant success, releasing music by artists from around the world – a diverse "cross section of pop music, or at least alt or indie music," including titles by such bands as Arcade Fire, The Magnetic Fields and Spoon, and some of its releases reaching the top 10 on the Billboard music charts.^[5]

McCaughan was a contributor to the 2009 book Our Noise - The Story of Merge Records by John Cook.^[6]

Other activity

On October 24, 2007, McCaughan gave expert witness testimony in the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on the topic "The Future of Radio".^[7][8]

Personal life

McCaughan lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with his wife and children. He graduated from Columbia College of Columbia University in 1990.^[9] His younger brother Matt McCaughan is a drummer best known for his work with Bon Iver.^[10]

Discography

Superchunk

Main article: Superchunk discography

• Superchunk (1990)
• No Pocky for Kitty (1991)
• On the Mouth (1993)
• Foolish (1994)
• Here's Where the Strings Come In (1995)
• Indoor Living (1997)
• Come Pick Me Up (1999)
• Here's to Shutting Up (2001)
• Majesty Shredding (2010)
• I Hate Music (2013)
• What a Time to Be Alive (2018)
• Foolish AF (2019)
• Wild Loneliness (2022)

Portastatic

Main article: Portastatic

All releases on Merge Records.

• I Hope Your Heart Is Not Brittle (CD/LP) (1994)
• Slow Note From a Sinking Ship (CD/LP) (1995)
• The Nature of Sap (CD/LP) (1997)
• Summer of the Shark (CD) (2003)
• Bright Ideas (CD) (2005)
• Be Still Please (CD) (2006)

Mac McCaughan

• Non-Believers (CD/LP) (2015)
• Happy New Year (Prince Can't Die Again) (digital single) (2016)^[11]
• New Rain Duets (LP/digital) (with Mary Lattimore) (2019)^[12]
• The Sound of Yourself (CD/LP) (2021)

Mac Krol

• For Some Other Reason (CD) (2023)